First, it’s important to know what your project is. Are you going to build a $200,000 home or a two million dollar home? Will you provide some labor yourself or use contractors for every phase? There are a lot of variables. Don’t be fooled. Savings from being your own builder (by wearing the contractor’s hat yourself) is neither easy nor an automatic windfall. Claims of savings of 40-60% are usually overblown. These results are rare and require that you provide a ton of your own labor and time along with managing the process yourself. Can you do it with the right experience, time, friends and a good system? Yes, but be prepared to focus intently on it for at least a year. But, what is a realistic savings goal for “Owner Builders” who want to manage their own project and use contractors to do most of the labor? With a good step by step process and advice from industry experts, you can expect to save as much as 15 -20%, on average. This means that on a $250,000 home, you can save up to $50,000 dollars. (In some situations it can be more.) For some, that’s a year’s salary. And, that’s nothing to sneeze at … especially when you realize you’re also getting a brand new home in the process!